Seeing through transparency in the craft chocolate industry: The what, how, and why of cacao sourcing

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dc.contributor.authorBoegman, Sidney James
dc.contributor.authorCarodenuto, Sophia
dc.contributor.authorRebitt, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorGrant, Hannah
dc.contributor.authorCisneros, Brian
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-25T22:14:04Z
dc.date.available2023-09-25T22:14:04Z
dc.date.copyright2023en_US
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractTransparency is a defining feature of the craft chocolate industry, but with the lack of benchmarks or regulations for this budding industry, entrepreneurs and stakeholders interpret and apply transparency in different ways. In general, transparency appears to be motivated by the aim to improve environmental and social outcomes in cacao origins, but with a lack of rigorous scientific evidence attributing transparency to such outcomes, the extent to which society benefits from industry transparency remains unclear. We provide a first step towards understanding the potential impact of transparency by studying how craft chocolate makers define the concept. Specifically, we ask what information is being disclosed, by whom, how, and why. Our practice-based research methods include collaboration with a key actor in the craft chocolate community: The Chocolate Alliance, an industry platform based in the United States. We employed an iterative mixed-methods approach by engaging 67 research participants in a survey and 13 in semi-structured interviews. Our study indicates that while ethical cacao sourcing is a significant motivator for transparency, craft chocolate makers were also driven by product quality and supply chain objectives. Notably, makers prioritized sharing information they believe will resonate with consumers and encourage purchase, challenging the notion that these companies are wholly driven by non-market goals.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) project ‘Follow the Bean: Tracing Zero Deforestation Cocoa’ [grant number 430-2020-00763].en_US
dc.identifier.citationBoegman, S. J., Carodenuto, S., Rebitt, S., Grant, H., & Cisneros, B. (2023). Seeing through transparency in the craft chocolate industry: The what, how, and why of cacao sourcing. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 14, 100739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100739.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100739
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/15441
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherJournal of Agriculture and Food Researchen_US
dc.subjectCraft chocolate
dc.subjectSupply chain transparency
dc.subjectEthical chocolate
dc.subjectSpecialty cacao
dc.subjectConsumer marketing
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Geography
dc.titleSeeing through transparency in the craft chocolate industry: The what, how, and why of cacao sourcingen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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